Alabama Power linemen rescue Florida family from Coosa River

A 4-year-old girl who fell into the Coosa River while feeding ducks, and her family, can thank four teammates from an Alabama Power line crew for saving her, her father and older brother from a potential catastrophe. The family had come up from Florida to escape Hurricane Ian when the girl fell off a pier near Alabama Power’s Lay Dam. The father and 8-year-old brother both jumped in to help her but were also quickly in distress in the swift current. The mother was on the riverbank but unable to help.

In this video, Steve Keel, foreman for the Alabama Power Southern Division Roving Crew, along with Lead Lineman Britt Clayton and Linemen Nic Porter and Daniel Hollis, recall what happened next after they saw the potential disaster unfold. With their help, the family was spared from an unthinkable tragedy.

“I’m just glad it ended the way it did,” Hollis said.

“It was a lot of emotions,” Clayton said. “I’m thankful we were in the right place at the right time.”

“I have a young daughter myself … it hit home with me,” Porter said. “Knowing how a circumstance – just a normal family outing out by the water – could change.”

 

Alabama Power crew rescues family from Coosa River from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.